Claire and Present Danger
by Love'sDarkEternity
Summary: So, I'm just trying to get some sleep, when I end up in the Mass Effect universe. With all my game knowledge, will I be able to navigate the complex world of Turians, Asari, and Shepard herself to make a difference? Maybe it would help if I knew how to fire a gun.
1. Chapter 1

"No!" I yell. I throw the controller down in frustration. This was not the ending I had wanted. Stupid. 'I hate this game.' I think. Now my Shepard is stuck being a stupid Reaper forever.

I switch the game disc out for Mass Effect Two. No stupid endgame to ruin that one. In Mass Effect Two, my biggest problem is choosing between Garrus and Thane. I really need to go to bed (I have school in the morning) but I don't really care. It's not like I'm ever going to use Calculus in real life, anyway.

I play until my eyes droop then I turn off the game and slip into bed. My notebook pokes me through the pillow and I yank it out. Man, I really should have written something today. I'm working on two stories, one for Thane and one for my favorite Turian. Hmm, who to write about? I wrote on Garrus yesterday, and poor Thane has been waiting for over a week.

'Lol… like there's really any competition.' Grinning to myself like a wild hyena, I pull the pen out of the spiral and start writing Garrus.

'The dashing, former C-Sec officer looks at his commander, unable to hide the affection in his eyes…' I fall asleep sometime while writing, hoping for dreams of Turians and Drell, and not the one where I have to keep taking a test I never studied for.

"That one looks fine. Grab her."

I bolt upright in bed, wondering whose talking. I'm not afraid. But, I think my notebook isn't a good weapon, so I trade it for my bat, which I keep handy under the bed. 'Oh no you don't.' I think to whoever.

I swing the bat and miss, but someone grabs it before I can bring it back to swing again. Then the bat is ripped away out of my hands and a bright light is shines in my eyes.

"Hey this one kind of looks like Shepard."

'Like who, now?'

"Red hair and everything. She'll be worth some money."

'Oh shit!' I'm not entirely sure what they're talking about, but it doesn't sound good. At all. I try to roll away, but someone grabs my ankle and pulls me back. Someone grabs my hair and the light is shined at me again.

"Green eyes and everything." He says, and I shudder, because the second guy has a voice that I would understand anywhere.

It's the double timber of a Turian. I open my eyes a little, still squinting at the light. Yeah, that guy's a Turian, and the other guy, the one holding my hair.

He's a freaking Batarian.

'Well, shit. They're real but these are the two I have to run into.'

If I was Shepard, I'd have a badass omni-tool or something to fight back with, but I'm only Claire so I try to kick or something but then there's a needle by my neck and the world goes black. It might not be the worst way to wake up in the middle of the night, but I'm pretty sure it ranks in the top ten.

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_**OKAY, so that's my first chapter and I know it's short, but I'm trying. Please read and review and help me be a better writer!**_


	2. Chapter 2

I wake up in a dark room, lying on the floor. It's a little cold, but luckily I was wearing my favorite Hello Kitty jammies. Someone coughs, and I look around. It's pretty dark, but I can make out a few more people sitting around, huddled in small groups and resting against the walls. Great. I'm in a room full of people, wearing my Hello Kitty jammies. Perfect.

The door creaks open and I have to squint my eyes at the bright light. I can't tell whose in the doorway, but a moment later I hear a voice, and it's another Turian. Or maybe the same one? I don't know.

"Who's ready to move on to their own room?" He asks. No one answers.

"Well, I'm tired of this place already." I say. The Turian laughs.

"You're still way too new to be sold. Sit back down." He snaps his fingers and two Batarians come in, dragging off one of the other women in the room, and then it hits me.

All women.

Sold.

This is a very bad place.

'Think, Claire, think of something.'

"I have to go to the bathroom!" I yell. That should at least get me out of the room, I think, and then I can see what's going on. No matter how many times I imagined meeting some real Turians, this was so not something I was interested in.

"It's over in the corner." He sneered, pointing. The door is all covered in shadow, but I go over to it. There's not even a lock and there's only one toilet, even though there must be about twelve people sharing this room. I shut the door, hoping no one picks this moment to barge in without knocking.

'What's am I going to do, Claire?' I ask myself, hoping I'll have a good answer. The room only has a toilet, a sink, and a roll of paper sitting on the floor. They probably don't want anyone to be able to get any kind of weapon.

'Well, maybe they should have grabbed someone who doesn't watch MacGuyver reruns.' I grin to myself and take the lid off the toilet tank.

"Gross, toilet water," I grumble. But, it's the top part. It's not like it's actually dirty water. I'm vaguely aware that there's usually metal inside the tank part, and I'm not disappointed. It only takes a little bit of wiggling, and I have a sharp bit of metal broken off. But now, they're going to notice the toilet broken. I feel for the little stopper that tells it when there's enough water in the bowl, and move it so it can't fall in. Then I pull one of my socks off (see? I ask myself. This is why you wear socks to bed) and shove it down the bowl of the toilet. Never thought being a "troubled kid" would come in handy. I wash my hands and my makeshift shiv. Well, rinse, really, because there's no soap.

"Hey, jackass!" I yell leaving the bathroom. I keep the bit of metal hidden in my hand and slam my other hand against the door the Turian had come from.

"What?" he says from the other side.

"This is the shittiest hotel I've ever been in. The toilet's overflowing. How much do you think you can sell us for if we're all covered in toilet water?"

'That worked pretty well.' I thought as he starts unlocking the door right away. He rushes right the bathroom, swearing at the flood I've created. I was going to stab him and try to find some keys or something, but he left the door open, so instead I just sneak out. That's the things about overflowing toilets. People _always_ forget whatever else they were doing.

I slip out into the hallway. There's no one else watching the door, which is lucky. I walk down the hall taking turns at random. The whole place looks fake fancy, with sumptuous red curtains and ugly paintings covering the walls. There's about a hundred doors down the main hall, but they all look like bedroom doors. So not what I'm looking for.

I finally reach the end of a hallway and find a big room, with a set of normal wooden doors, glass inserts and it looks like it leads outside. But there are a bunch of people in the room. I crouch down, still in the hallway, and thinkabout how I'm going to get by them all. Maybe if I throw my shiv past them, they'll all turn around and look, and I'll have a chance to run past. Except, I'm pretty sure the main door would be locked, too.

'Think, Claire. Think. You can do this.'

"What in hell's name are you doing?" I hear from behind me. I don't even think, just react, swinging my shiv around at the Turian whose standing behind me.

He catches my wrist, though, before I can stab him, and his other hand grabs my throat, slamming me to the wall.

"Do you know, you're our very first escape." He snarls. I kick my feet but he's Turian and he's too tall and oh my _God _I can't breath and I'm going to die.

One bare foot and one socked foot glance harmlessly off his armor. The hand around my throat tightens.

"It's probably better for you if you drop that little knife, girl. Although, I'm sure I can sell you for a much higher price if you keep it. The ones that look like Commander Shepard, people like it if they act like her, too."

That sounds terrifying, but also a little flattering. What _would _Shepard do in this scenario?

I start kicking less and let my eyes close. 'Please fall for it.' I pray. And thank God, he does. He drops me to the floor, but he's left me just a little too close to his feet.

I open my eyes just a little so I can see where the softer knee joint is on his armor. I risk a glance to his face, but he's not paying attention to me anymore, not when I'm unconscious. He's talking to some other people, telling them to get me back to my room.

I move quickly, stabbing the knife into his knee. Hopefully it cripples him. I know there are too many people around, so I try grabbing his gun.

Unfortunately, Turians are apparently even tougher than they look. I don't even get to grab his gun before he has me by the throat again. But while he's doing that, he's not looking at the gun, so I grab it as he slams me into the wall once more.

"Stupid little girl. You don't even know how to fire that."

'How hard can it be? It's point and shoot, isn't it?' I think.

Turns out it's not. I pull the trigger right in his face and nothing happens, not even a click. His open hand grabs my wrist again, but this time he doesn't wait to see if I drop my weapon. He squeezes, and there is a sickening crunch as he shatters my wrist. I'm not even holding the gun anymore, but it's caught on one of my fingers. I don't have enough air to tell him I'm not doing it on purpose. He brings one armored knee up into my stomach and I try to crumple, or as much as I can crumple while he's holding me by the throat.

The pain from my wrist finally hits me and involuntary tears start streaming. Damn. I haven't cried in front of people in years.

"Drop it… now. I have no use for merchandise that doesn't follow even rudimentary orders."

I try to tell him I'm not holding it, that it's caught on my finger, but I don't have any air, and this time when my eyes close, it's not a trick. The blackness and the agony overcome me and I'm unconscious again.

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_**I think I might change the title to "Claire and Present Danger." What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Let me know!**_


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